Marketing for Indie Authors 101: The 3-Step Positioning Strategy for Market Domination
Read on to learn the 3-step positioning strategy to help you stand out in a saturated market, and don't miss our latest podcasts for more self-publishing tips!
Marketing for Indie Authors 101: The 3-Step Positioning Strategy for Market Domination
The independent publishing world is saturated. Writing a good book is essential, and for authors who write mainly as a hobby or for the sake of creativity, that is enough. However, it is no longer enough for profit-oriented authors who wish to turn their writing into a career.
For optimal marketability, indie authors must adopt a strategic market mindset and ensure their product stands out among the competition. This process begins with a 3-step positioning strategy—making sure your book packaging immediately communicates its value to the right readers.
Step 1: Narrow Down Your Niche
Study the bestsellers in your chosen niche. Note how they position their books, and how they tailor their books and marketing copy to their target audience. Indie authors whose primary focus is making a profit must first write for their market.
Once you get a sense of your market, narrow down your niche. Success is found in specificity. Instead of broadly targeting “Romantic Fantasy,” for example, focus on “Enemies-to-Lovers Dark Fantasy with Necromancy.”
Identify Your Audience’s Needs
To be successful, you must connect and resonate with your target audience. Identify what your audience wants/needs, craft your book accordingly, and make it clear in your marketing copy that your book delivers what they’re looking for.
For example, if you’re a fiction author, what specific story conventions do your readers expect? What tropes do they want to read?
If you’re a nonfiction author, what problem does your audience need a solution for? What are they seeking to learn about or improve on?
Make sure to mention those key themes in your keywords, blurb, and any other marketing copy, as appropriate (just don’t force it; any terms you mention in your blurb, for instance, should flow naturally along with the rest of the text).
Analyze Bestsellers in Your Genre
Study the top 20 books in your category. Note what their covers and interiors have in common (e.g., color palette, imagery, typography) and see what works for them. Read their reviews to see what customers liked and didn’t like about them.
Don’t hesitate to use bestsellers in your genre as inspiration for your book—you want your book to look like it belongs among them. That said, you shouldn’t simply copy the competition. Common elements and styles can be modified and used in unique ways.
Experienced cover and interior designers will be able to create an original cover design and interior layout that instantly communicates the book’s genre and tone by using appropriate typography and imagery.
Ensure a Professional Presentation
Never skimp on quality. Customers recognize quality when they see it. They’ll know if you cut corners.
To give your book the best chance on the market, you should invest in professional editing and design services. All the marketing in the world won’t help your book if its packaging is shoddy.
An amateur presentation signals a risk to a potential buyer, regardless of the quality of the story.
Step 2: Write a Blurb That Converts
Different authors have different definitions of the term “blurb.” For our purposes in this article, we’ll consider the “blurb” as being synonymous with your book description.
Think of your blurb as ad copy—it must help convert the casual browser into a paying customer and committed reader. The blurb should quickly tell your reader what they can expect from your book and why they should choose it over others.
Customize as Needed
You can customize your blurb based on where it appears. For example, your blurb on Amazon may include Amazon-optimized keywords, while your blurb on the back cover of your physical book may be slightly shorter for optimal readability and spacing.
Keep It Short
People have short attention spans. Even putting aside any space and word count restrictions, it’s best to keep your blurb as short and concise as possible while still sharing the necessary information. The longer the text is, the less likely browsing customers are to read through it.
Step 3: Optimize Your Storefront
For most authors, the Amazon Product Page is the primary “storefront.” Other retail listings and your website can also be excellent sources of sales, but Amazon still dominates the market. Regardless, you must ensure the metadata is set up properly and consistently across all platforms where your book appears.
Metadata (which includes your title, subtitle, author name, keywords, categories, etc.) is what enables search engine algorithms to suggest your book to buyers searching for its topics, themes, and related content. If the metadata is incorrect, inconsistent, or unclear, your book won’t find its way into the right search results.
Be Strategic With Keywords
Keywords are words and phrases customers put into search engines to find the products they’re looking for online. You can click here to learn more about what keywords are and how to use them, but here are a few tips to get you started:
Use all the keyword slots available at whatever platform you’re publishing through. KDP, for example, has seven keyword slots.
Ensure your keywords are clear, descriptive terms that your target audience is actually searching for.
Update your keywords as needed to find what works best as the market shifts.
Ensure your title, subtitle, and blurb include relevant keywords, but in a natural way (they shouldn’t be stuffed in).
Choose Relevant Categories
Similar to keywords, BISAC categories help with discoverability when used correctly. BISAC categories allow books to be organized based on their content (genres, topics, etc.).
You should choose categories that accurately reflect your niche but have manageable competition. A smaller category may lead to a higher ranking, granting you greater visibility.
As with keywords, update your categories to adjust to the market as needed. Many authors make the mistake of thinking that categories and keywords are set in stone. They’re not. You should experiment with them periodically to see the impact on your sales.
Proofread Your Text
Once you’re done drafting all your metadata and web copy, proofread it. Errors in metadata can weaken your presentation and cause confusion with both algorithms and readers.
Typos are inevitable. It never hurts to have a second set of eyes review your copy, or even to run it through a program like Grammarly for added peace of mind.
Showcase Your Reviews
Getting reader reviews is crucial for success, as they provide the social proof needed to put new customers at ease and encourage more sales. A book with no or few reviews appears more risky than a book with many positive reviews.
To combat this, savvy authors gather an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) team—a group of readers who receive a free copy of the book before its launch date in exchange for an honest, timely review come launch day.
You can also include a clear but friendly call to action at the end of your book asking for reviews and perhaps asking readers to join your mailing list.
Customer reviews are like gold, but don’t underestimate the benefit of editorial reviews. Amazon has a separate section for editorial reviews that appears further up on the book detail page. While any reviews can go in this section, editorial reviews should, ideally, come from other well-known professionals in your industry or respected sources of paid reviews, such as Kirkus.
Conclusion
By focusing on these professional packaging and strategic elements, you have a shot at increasing your book’s discoverability and drastically improving sales.
Not sure where to go from here? Help is just a click away with our flexible author marketing coaching programs. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help prepare your book for market and give you the tools to help you succeed moving forward.
In case you missed it…
An Indie Author’s Direct Line to Readers: How to Build and Leverage an Email List
Click here to learn the essential steps for building and growing one of your most valuable author assets.
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Great post. On the money!